The present invention relates to assemblies and methods for constructing a building, and more particularly to an assembly and method of constructing the interior of a building such that the interior has a loft-style or that can also have a roughened, weathered appearance.
For many years, people have desired to live and work in loft-style spaces with high ceilings and tall windows that provide the occupant with an increased amount of space in which to live or work. These types of spaces also offer other highly desirable qualities such as a character-filled, or less sterile environment, exposed wood, possibly with a weathered look, and the overall sense of being in a desirable location, among others.
This style of space is often created by converting an unused industrial buildings into a number of separate living areas, offices or spaces for other uses by renovating the interior of the building. However, due to the fact that most of the buildings which are converted in this manner were built more than 30 years ago, the interiors of these buildings have deteriorated over time. This deterioration greatly complicates conversion of these buildings into loft spaces. The reasons for the difficulty in converting the buildings include problems with complying with applicable building codes, the high and sometimes unpredictable cost of renovating the building, the uncertain structural capabilities of the building and the inability to always obtain proper acoustic separation between the loft spaces.
Furthermore, even without the above-mentioned problems, there are only a limited number of buildings available in desirable areas for conversion to living spaces, such that the demand for these spaces greatly exceeds the supply.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an assembly and method for constructing an interior for a newly erected building that provides the desired loft-style look.
It is an object of the invention to provide an assembly and method for constructing an interior of a new building that provides the building interior structure with a loft-style look or appearance without encountering any of the problems associated with the conversion of an existing industrial building.
It is another object of the invention to provide an assembly and method for constructing an interior of a new building in which the various forms utilized in the method and assembly can be prefabricated and transported to the construction site for use in constructing the building structure.
It is still another object of the invention to provide an assembly and method in which the forms used in the method and system can be constructed of any material which can also include a weathered or roughened exterior, if desired.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide an assembly and method in which the building interior structure can be constructed from cast-in-place concrete.
It is still another object of the invention to provide an assembly and method in which the forms can be adapted to any building interior structure configuration required by the particular building in which the method and system are applied.
The present invention is an assembly and method for constructing a building interior in order to provide the interior with a loft-style look or appearance. The system includes a number of prefabricated forms which are assembled into a form assembly over an area of ground, a floor, a ceiling or similar horizontal surface between the exterior sidewalls of the building. The form assembly is created from a number of pieces of a generally rigid material that can have a roughened or weathered exposed surface visible on each form in the assembly. The forms are positioned within the interior of the building to form the supporting structure for the building interior, such as columns and beams.
After the form assembly is positioned within the building interior, a number of prefabricated decking panels can be attached between the various support beams in order to provide a ceiling and floor or roof for the building interior. The panels are formed of a material similar to that which the forms are made, and can also include a roughened exposed surface on one side of the panel. The exposed surface faces downwardly towards the horizontal surface on which the forms rest to insure that the roughened surface is-exposed when the building interior is finished. The decking panels are then secured to the forms in such a manner as to leave the interiors of the support beams and the columns exposed.
After the panels, support beams and columns secured to one another, cast-in-place concrete may then be poured onto the forms. The concrete flows over the panels and fills the columns and support beams, and also forms a concrete slab having a desired thickness over each panel. Once the concrete has set and reached the necessary degree of hardness, another assembly of forms can be positioned on the concrete slab formed over the panels in order to form an interior structure for the next floor of the building.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description taken together with the drawings.